Marketing Lessons From the Kardashian Family

Love them or hate them, the Kardashian family knows how to market themselves. Okay, so they have a reality TV show, or four, that helped propel them to the highest levels of fame. But they are still social media marketing and branding superstars. So here's how you can Keep Up With The Kardashians.

The Kardashian Family's Marketing Strategy

1. Fans Are Important

Celebrities like the Kardashians know that their success lies with the loyalty of their fans. You should know this too. In fact, by now you probably know the importance influencers and fans have to your brand. These are the people who are driving viral interactions for you with little work on your side. You need to nurture them and keep them loving, adoring and obsessing over your brand.

One thing you can do is give your fans a shout out every now and them. Khloe Kardashian and the whole Kardashian family do this on a regular basis. One thing they are doing that caught my eye is featuring a fans Tumblr account every Tuesday. They call it Tumblr Tuesday, a name that is catchy, but more importantly, gives credit to the fan who creates a fan site for them. I can guarantee that this particular fan is going crazy promoting this to their network and followers. Boom, they've just increased their reach.

Beyond this example, you can nurture your fans and let them know that you are listening by promoting their social shares about your brand. Here are a few ways:

Repost or reshare a picture of them wearing your product on your channels.

Share a review they wrote.

Mention them on Twitter or Facebook.

The more you do this, the more other people will join in on sharing content about your brand in hopes you will reshare it. Remember, it's all about giving fans their 15 minutes of fame.

2. Syndicate Your Content From Network To Network But Not All At Once

I notice this from all the Kardashians. They will post a picture on Instagram. They will receive the eyeballs there. Then they will take that content and share it on their blog the next day. From there they will share that blog post on Twitter and Facebook. Just like that they stretched one piece of content into many pieces, which increased the reach for that one piece of content. What I like about their strategy is that they space it out allowing for maximum eyeballs on different networks. They know their audience is segmented and like to consume content in different manners. Think about this the next time you post something on Instagram and want to hit the Tweet and Facebook share buttons. Instead of sharing that moment on all networks, try spacing it out. Your content will go a lot further.

3. Host Contests

The Kardashians love contests. Kendall and Kylie Jenner, the two younger sisters who share the K names but not the same last name have made a name for themselves by promoting their own products. They are also known for being Instagram superstars. Recently they jumped on a nail art trend that is seen on Pinterest and Instagram and hosted a contest around it. They also used Instagram for their contest, which is interesting because it is so new. This was a great way to brand and market themselves to a young, fashion-forward crowd as a means by which to promote their PacSun clothing line.

4. Use Unique Social Networks

The Kardashian family uses a social video app called Keek. I had never heard of it until they started promoting it. Whether or not they are being paid from the company to sponsor their app, they have built quite a following for themselves there. And it's video. My advice here is to go ahead and try some new apps out. Perhaps you want to take a stab at Vine, the new video app. Or maybe you want to jump on the Keek bandwagon. Try it out. You never know what results you may get. If the value is low after a few tests, then move on.

5. Act Like A Family

Every member of that family promotes one another. Kourtney has been seen sharing content about her younger sisters. Khloe has been seen promoting her brother and so on and so forth. While we can't deny that there are almost 10 family members creating a small army of marketing power, you can use this with idea with your employees. Encourage your employees to be social ambassadors. The more people you have promoting you, the more reach you will have.

6. Post Often & Use A Lot Of Different Networks

There is no doubt that the Kardashians post a lot about themselves. While you may want to be careful about how much you post, make sure you post enough to keep yourself relevant. Don't forget that your audience is present on different networks, so make yourself present there too. While it is important to be present on many different networks, it is also important to spend the most time where you get the most value. What network is that for you?

Final words:

Jenner Communications, you do a great job with all the family members. Let me handle your corporate business page. I see it hasn't been updated for over a few months. Call me!

Join The Conversation

Stephanie, good piece on the marketing genius behind the Kardashians. And I was pleased to see you give the credit for managing the social media where it belongs, Jenner Communications. Granted that's the family company but still they employ pros that know what to do and how to make it all come together.